I thought I'd post this review as we get a lot of visitors looking for beginning bikes, either for themselves or for friends / family members.
I recently had access to a Ninja 250 which I was temporarily holding onto for a newbie rider friend. In the meantime, I rode it in the twisties, city streets, and on the freeway.
First impressions:The bike is very light and short, I can almost flat-foot it.
It was nice being able to sit on a bike and easily roll it around. This is great for building confidence and learning about balance and how to park a bike.
It ran great, no issues, very reliable. The controls were all easy to reach and the bike felt very responsive.
Twisty riding:This bike excels in the twisties. Its small size makes it extremely nimble, it turns remarkably quickly, and very little engine braking mean that it carries an incredible amount of speed through the corners. It was an absolute blast to ride, and I enjoyed passing up a group of newer riders on liter bikes.
City streets:This is the only place where I really felt the lack of power on the bike. The 250 can out-accelerate cars from a stop, but not at the rate that I am used to. I usually chose not to split to the front of the line at a red light because of this; however I wouldn't really expect beginning riders to be doing this anyway.
Freeway:I was talked out of getting a 250 as my first bike because people told me it would be no good on a freeway. Well, after riding it, it was obvious that those friends had never ridden one.
It was great fun to be able to ride as if I were on a racetrack, taking on-ramps WOT. I had no problem out-accelerating and passing cars as needed. I was able to get the bike up to 108 mph indicated on a straight flat in 6th gear.
I know I'm light, but that was with some headwinds and a 20-lb backpack on. The only downside is that riding high speeds on this bike requires high RPMs, so it does get pretty buzzy which can be uncomfortable for longer rides.
Other comments:I averaged well over 50 mpg on the bike and I was not trying to save gas at all. BTW, someguy (who is much taller and heavier than me) also tried it out and had no complaints about its performance in the twisties or on the freeway. I also was able to take my friend 2-up on the bike without problems (total weight about 260 lb plus gear).
I think this is an excellent beginning bike, very confidence-inspiring. I tried my best to test it out by making typical noob mistakes, such as whacking on the throttle, dumping the clutch, or mis-shifts. The worst the bike ever did was lurch a bit. I also tested out some emergency braking and had no trouble with that.
If I were to add another bike to my stable, I might think about one of the 2008 models for some twisty fun.